Hi! What can I do to find out about a long time ago murder in my old home state?

Question

I have actually been trying to find or locate an article about a long time ago murder of a former classmate... I don't know where to look...would I have to call a library for them to look this up for me? or how would I go about finding this on the web? and would I have to pay? I wish that this could be for free!! Does anybody know?

thanks a lot!

Answer 1

The library will not do it for you,but there should be newspaper archives obits,police reports and if you know something by all means try to find out who the investigating officer was there is no statute of limitations on murder

Answer 2

Check the newspapers from that time, like at the local library. They will have copies on either discs or microfiche. Anything local would be the best. That would give you a starting point. From there, you can find out the name of the person who was accused and prosecuted. Courts are public, so you should then be able to the courts for copies of the transcripts. The place you would go to is called something different in each state. County Recorder, and such. Good luck.

Answer 3

do a search for the newspaper that services the area in question or the one that was in the town at the time of the murder. Most newspapers have an archive and many, many of them are accessible by computer. Also check and see if the local library has a website and through their site you may be able to access the archive of the newspaper.

Answer 4

I would look for it yourself. You can get help from a librarian to point you to the right resources but you'll probably have to do the work yourself.

The two places to look are back newspaper editions and the county court house. You have to find a library that carries back issues (usually on microfilm) for that town. If it's a big city, you might be able to find it in any big library. If not the county library. Try the main branch. It would help alot if you remembered dates and names.

You can search back issues of paper to find articles. The reader's guide to periodical literature will help you find articles about the trial. Any trial documents are pubilc records and you can probably find them at county office or in a law school library. These are generally open to the public for browsing and copying but you won't be able to check any of these things out.

Make an adventure out of it!

Answer 5

Start with the periodical room at your local library. Ask the librarian to help you find copies of newspaper articles from the time; they will probably be on microfilm or microfiche, if not computerized. You should be able to read it all for free at the library. If you want copies of it printed out, there would be a small fee per page.

Answer 6

How long ago was this? If it was with in the last 10 years or so, you could probably find some info on the Internet, just go to the yahoo search engine and type in the persons name and the city and if there is any info out there about this, you should be able to find it. Good Luck.

Answer 7

If you are looking for details of the murder itself, and you know the approximate date, go to the library and access the local newspaper's archives. You can copy what you need and extract any other clues that the articles offer.

Answer 8

Most libraries have a room where they keep hundreds of thousands of newspapers and clippings where you can pull them up on microfilm on a machine. The internet is a source too...but you've got to be careful about authenticity.

Answer 9

contact the local newspaper, and see if you can search their archives. The library is also a good place to look. Good luck with your search.

Answer 10

Do you know the persons name? You can actually go to the court house and find a death cert. if you know what county they died in. Or start talking to older people around or you can email someone at your local newsrooms.